Al-Inshiqaaq
سُورَةُ الانشِقَاقِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
About Surah Al-Inshiqaaq
Meccan · 25 verses
Main Themes
The sky and earth's obedience to Allah, stages of human life, the Day of Reckoning, the right hand and left hand records
Significance
Al-Inshiqaq (The Splitting Asunder) describes the sky splitting in obedience to its Lord as one of the signs of the Day of Judgement — an image of the entire cosmos submitting to divine command in a way that humans fail to do in life. The surah then presents the two outcomes of judgement: the one given his record in the right hand (ease and joy) and the one given it behind his back (regret and punishment). It concludes with a reflection on the stages of human development as evidence of divine power over resurrection.
Key Verse Explained
Ayah 6 ("O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with exertion and will meet it") is understood by classical scholars as one of the Quran's most significant anthropological statements: human existence is defined by effort and movement toward divine encounter. Nothing in human life is static — we are always progressing toward or away from Allah. The verse motivates constant self-assessment (muhasaba) as a spiritual practice.
Related Practices
Al-Inshiqaq is recommended alongside At-Takwir and Al-Infitar for deepening contemplation of the Day of Judgement. The verse on prostration (84:21 — "when the Quran is recited to them, they do not prostrate") implies a sajdat al-tilawa for reciters, one of the fifteen prostration points in the Quran. The surah's division of humanity into those receiving records in right versus left hand is a cornerstone of Islamic eschatological teaching.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْشَقَّتْ 1
When the sky has split [open]
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ 2
And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so]
وَإِذَا الْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ 3
And when the earth has been extended
وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ 4
And has cast out that within it and relinquished [it]
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ 5
And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so] -
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ 6
O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ 7
Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand,
فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا 8
He will be judged with an easy account
وَيَنْقَلِبُ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا 9
And return to his people in happiness.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ 10
But as for he who is given his record behind his back,
فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُو ثُبُورًا 11
He will cry out for destruction
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا 12
And [enter to] burn in a Blaze.
إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا 13
Indeed, he had [once] been among his people in happiness;
إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُورَ 14
Indeed, he had thought he would never return [to Allah].
بَلَىٰ إِنَّ رَبَّهُ كَانَ بِهِ بَصِيرًا 15
But yes! Indeed, his Lord was ever of him, Seeing.
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ 16
So I swear by the twilight glow
وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ 17
And [by] the night and what it envelops
وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ 18
And [by] the moon when it becomes full
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَنْ طَبَقٍ 19
[That] you will surely experience state after state.
فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ 20
So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe,
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقُرْآنُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩ 21
And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?
بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُكَذِّبُونَ 22
But those who have disbelieved deny,
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ 23
And Allah is most knowing of what they keep within themselves.
فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ 24
So give them tidings of a painful punishment,
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ 25
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds. For them is a reward uninterrupted.